Dates of 1993

January

January 1

Czechoslovakia now two nations. What had been the single nation of Czechoslovakia officially became two independent states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Vaclav Havel, the former president of Czechoslovakia, and many others, especially ethnic Czechs, had argued vehemently against separation, but to no avail. However, once an agreement was reached on a peaceful division of the country, both sides promised to cooperate in the future. National assets were divided on a 2-1 ratio based on the Czech Republic’s larger population. The International Monetary Fund chose a somewhat more precise figure in reallocating the assets and liabilities of what had been Czechoslovakia. On January 26 Havel was elected to a five-year term as president of the Czech Republic. On February 15 Michal Kovac was chosen president of Slovakia.

EC inaugurates open internal market. The 12-nation European Community (EC) began implementing the first phase of its open internal market, which, among other things, allowed individuals to transport unlimited quantities of items for personal use across national borders. The ultimate goal of the open market was to allow a free flow of people, goods, information, and currency within the EC. Some of the measures envisioned by the EC had not yet been formally adopted; others had not yet been approved by all of the individual states. Certain measures, moreover, were not scheduled to take effect until a later date. The EC market, representing some 350 million people, was expected to constitute one of the most formidable economic powers in the world. Poland was among several former Communist nations in Eastern Europe to express fears that its exports to EC nations, which were critical to its economy, would diminish significantly because it was outside the market.

January 3

U.S. and Russia sign START II. U.S. Pres. George Bush and Russian Pres. Boris Yeltsin initialed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) in the Kremlin, an agreement that called for the total elimination of land-based multiple-warhead missiles and a two-thirds reduction in their respective long-range nuclear weapons. Unlike previous arms control negotiations, the details of START II were worked out in just six months. Both the U.S. and Russia agreed that START II would not take effect until all those who had signed START I had ratified the accord and complied with its provisions. Neither Ukraine nor Belarus had as yet ratified the treaty.

January 4

Daniel arap Moi begins new term. Daniel arap Moi, leader of the Kenya African National Union party, took the oath of office as president of Kenya for the fourth time. According to official tallies, he had won 37% of the popular vote in the controversial December 1992 national election. Moi’s closest rival, Kenneth Matiba, leader of a faction within the opposition Forum for the Restoration of Democracy, finished second with 26% of the vote. In the National Assembly, Moi’s supporters would hold 97 of the 202 seats even though 15 of Moi’s 21 Cabinet ministers had been defeated when they ran for reelection. Matiba and two other leaders of the opposition repudiated the election on the grounds that it had been fraudulent. Observers noted that Moi might not have won reelection if the opposition had joined forces during the campaign.

January 6

Japan’s crown prince picks bride. The Japanese press announced with great fanfare that 32-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito and Masako Owada had become engaged and would marry in early summer. An official announcement from the imperial palace was not expected for several weeks. The two met for the first time at a diplomatic reception in 1986. The 29-year-old future empress, whose father was Japan’s vice minister of foreign affairs and the nation’s senior career diplomat, had attended Harvard University and the Universities of Tokyo and Oxford before deciding to pursue a career in Japan’s Foreign Ministry. In that capacity she had been deeply involved in delicate and highly technical trade negotiations with her U.S. counterparts.

January 12

Reynolds to lead Irish coalition. The tenure of Albert Reynolds as prime minister of Ireland was extended when the Dail (parliament) approved a new coalition government under the continued leadership of the Fianna Fail party. The Labour Party, led by Dick Spring, joined the government as a junior partner. It was the first time that the two parties had formed such a political alliance. Together they would control 101 of the 166 seats in the Dail. Reynolds began to look for political allies after the November 1992 election, when his conservative party faltered and the left-of-centre Labour Party increased its seats to 33 from 16. Because of Labour’s new power, Spring was named deputy prime minister and the country’s foreign minister.

Court halts the trial of Erich Honecker. A German court in Berlin dropped manslaughter charges against Erich Honecker shortly after the Constitutional Court declared that the 80-year-old former leader of East Germany was too ill to stand trial and that his continued detention would be a violation of human rights. Honecker had been accused of ordering East German guards to shoot anyone attempting to flee to West Berlin after the erection of the Berlin Wall. On January 13 a separate court in Berlin dropped charges of embezzlement related to Honecker’s alleged use of public funds to build a sumptuous complex for Communist Party officials. After his release from prison, Honecker was allowed to fly to Santiago, Chile, where he was reunited with his wife and daughter on January 14.

January 13

Religious strife engulfs Bombay. More than 550 persons were reported killed in Bombay, India, during nine days of sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims. Firemen were attacked with gasoline bombs and stones when they attempted to save burning homes, businesses, and vehicles. Policemen also came under attack when they tried to quell the riots, put an end to looting, and enforce the curfew. The police commissioner described the chaos as "incidents of madness." Order was finally restored with the help of army troops and paramilitary commandos.

Senate panel issues its final MIA report. The U.S. Senate Select Committee on POW-MIA Affairs issued its final report after a 15-month effort to determine the fate of hundreds of U.S. servicemen listed as missing in action during the Vietnam war. The panel concluded that there was no compelling evidence that any U.S. prisoner of war was still being held in Indochina. It also conceded that a small number of Americans who were listed as missing in action in Laos might have been alive and in captivity when the Paris peace accords that ended the war were signed in 1973. Sen. John Kerry, who acted as chairman of the panel, summed up its conclusions by saying: "This report does not close the issue. There is evidence, tantalizing evidence, that raises questions. But questions are not facts and are not proof."

January 15

Italy apprehends Mafia leader. The Italian police announced that plainclothes paramilitary police in Palermo, Sicily, had apprehended 62-year-old Salvatore Riina, the reputed boss of bosses of organized crime in Italy. Riina, who was unarmed, had been sought by police ever since his 1969 escape from house arrest in Bologna. In 1987 he had been tried in absentia and sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder and drug trafficking. He was also believed to have ordered the 1992 assassinations of two prominent prosecutors of organized crime and to have established links with such groups as the Colombian cocaine cartels. Several hundred Mafia informers were said to have contributed significantly to the government’s recent successes against organized crime.

January 20

Clinton becomes U.S. president. William J. Clinton, who had been the longtime Democratic governor of Arkansas, took the oath of office as the 42nd president of the United States. In the November 1992 national election he captured 370 of 538 votes in the electoral college by winning a plurality of the popular vote in 32 states and the District of Columbia. His two major opponents had been the Republican incumbent George Bush and independent Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot. Clinton’s running mate during the campaign, Sen. Albert Gore of Tennessee, took his oath as vice president shortly before Clinton was sworn in by William Rehnquist, chief justice of the United States. Justice Byron White administered the oath to Gore because retired justice Thurgood Marshall was too ill to participate.

January 25

Denmark gets new government. Poul N. Rasmussen, a 49-year-old Social Democrat, became prime minister of Denmark. His four-party coalition government included the Centre Democrats, the Radical Liberals, and the Christian People’s Party. All three parties had supported the coalition that had formed Denmark’s government before Prime Minister Poul Schluter resigned on January 14 after more than 10 years in office. Niels Petersen, a Radical Liberal, announced that his top priority as foreign minister would be to reverse, in a new referendum, Denmark’s June 1992 rejection of the European Community’s (EC’s) Treaty on European Union. During a December 1992 meeting in Scotland, the EC ministers had agreed to modify the treaty to accommodate certain Danish demands.

Police kill protesters in Togo. European diplomats reported that at least 20 pro-democracy campaigners had been shot and killed by police in Lomé, the capital of Togo. The stated goal of the demonstrators was to compel the president, Gen. Gnassingbe Eyadema, to end military rule. The tiny West African nation had been under his control for 26 years. Eyadema had tried in vain to end violent antigovernment protests by legalizing opposition political parties in April 1991.

January 27

Clinton delays decision on gays. White House officials announced that President Clinton had decided to delay issuing an executive order reversing a government policy that banned homosexuals from serving in the armed forces. Although Clinton had promised during the presidential campaign that he would remove the ban if elected, he encountered vigorous opposition from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other military personnel as well as from influential members of Congress. The issue, which was of only marginal importance compared with other critical problems facing the nation, was nonetheless certain to be hotly debated in the mass media and among individuals, both military and civilian.

January 28

Israeli court backs government. The seven-member Israeli High Court of Justice in Jerusalem ruled unanimously that the government had exercised legitimate powers in December 1992 when it deported 415 Palestinians from the occupied territories to a no-man’s land in Lebanon. All the deportees were said to be actively involved with a militant Arab organization called Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement). Such deportations had earlier been condemned by the UN Security Council as violations of international law. Shortly before the Israeli court announced its ruling, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali had recommended that the council take "whatever measures are required" to enforce its demand that the Palestinians be allowed to return to their homes. On February 1 the Israeli government announced that about 100 Palestinians would be permitted to return and that the remainder would be allowed to return to their homes within a year.

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